CFP: Interactivity in Literature (4/15/06; MMLA, 11/9/06-11/12/06)

A program of the Society for Critical Exchangeto be held at 48th Annual M/MLA ConventionNovember 9-12, 2006, Chicago, IL

Facing fierce competition from new media and new technologies, literaturefinds itself under pressure of conforming to the equally new norms ofmeasuring value and meaning. It is almost taken for granted that the valueof a product, and thus the value of a work of art, is multiplied if thatproduct can be described as interactive. Can literature (or should it) takeclaim of interactivity in order to make use of the new media? Can thisinteractivity evolve past its push-button stage to become (at least in part)synonymous with communication, collaboration, activism or wider cultural andsocial engagement? The proposed set of linked panels will investigate anddefine what interactivity is in terms of literature, and how communicationand collaboration are achieved through literature in the technology-orientedsociety.